A New Beginning
by T-Kiwi02
Summary: One-Shot. Sequel to my first Hey Arnold fic, Gone.


_**Okay... so this is the follow up to my first Hey Arnold one-shot "Gone." This is a little longer, and I hope you enjoy it.**_

_**A quick note: Arnold did find his parents before he started high school. Just so y'all know :)**_

_**Okay, now you can go on and read it.**_

_**Ready, set, READ!**_

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The 18-year old blonde pulled out the slim rectangle at the bottom of the box. The noise of the newspaper crinkling filled the small dorm room. Tossing the ball of paper into the trash, he smiled at the picture he now held. It was a picture of himself and his three best friends at the beginning of their freshman year of high school.

To the left was the smartest, and smallest, of the four. A blush was noticeable below her blue-framed glasses, due to the arm of her, then new, boyfriend draped around her shoulders. The tall boy next to her was grinning ear to ear, and his hair as tall as it had been when he was a kid. His left arm was hanging over the shoulder of the shorter, blonde football headed boy. As always, he wore a soft smile, just happy to be with his friends. To the blonde's left was the taller girl, a small smile on her face.

His eyes lingered on her picture. She was smiling in the picture, but looking at her blue eyes, he saw that the smile was a fake. He wished he had seen it back then, how unhappy she really was. She had them all fooled. Sure, they all knew her home life wasn't great, and it got a little worse when her dad's business went under, but none of her three friends knew it was bad enough to make her want to leave. The picture in the boy's hands had been taken about a week before she ran away.

The sound of the door opening pulled the blonde out of his thoughts. He smiled at his parents as they entered the room.

"All unpacked son?" his father asked.

"Yeah." He placed the picture on his desk. "That's everything."

His mother smiled, tears visible in her eyes. "I guess we should go now."

"Mom, don't cry."

"I'm okay," the brunette woman said. "I just can't believe you're starting college." She pulled her tall son into a hug. "I love you Arnold."

"Love you too Mom." He pulled away from his mom and turned to his father. They hugged, patting each other on the back. "Love you Dad."

"Love you too son."

His dad pulled away, putting an arm around his wife. Without any more words, the couple walked out, leaving their son to get used to his new room for the next few months.

Arnold looked around the small, single dorm before sitting at his desk. He looked out the window, watching the students in the courtyard. A lot of students carried backpacks or suitcases, some searching the campus, looking for their dorms, and others stood talking to friends. Off in a corner of the courtyard some upperclassmen were playing a game of touch football.

Leaning back in his chair, Arnold grabbed his room key, spinning the chain around one finger. After a few minutes, he stood up, hooking his key around his right belt loop, and left the room to explore campus.

The campus was bigger than he had imagined. It was at least five times the size of his neighborhood back home. The brochure had not done the place justice. His eyes fell into a squint as he walked outside into the courtyard he had just been looking at from his window. He smiled at his fellow freshman who were still wandering around looking for their dorms, or trying to shake off their clinging parents.

He sat down on the wall of the fountain that stood proudly in the middle of the courtyard. He closed his eyes, the sound of the water rushing behind him drowned out the chaos of his fellow students; it was relaxing. The breeze blowing his bright blonde hair felt refreshing in the heat of the summer day.

The brightness from the sun suddenly darkened, but Arnold didn't open his eyes. He was too relaxed, and it would be one of the last times he would feel this way before classes started that Monday. He heard that the first semester of college was always the toughest, so he spent his summer enjoying as much of it as he could.

The scuffling of a shoe told him it was a person who was blocking the sun's rays; probably another freshman stopping to get a good view of the campus before finding their dorm. He let out a content sigh, thankful that he had his parents with him to help him find his room. A faint jingle of keys brought him out of this thoughts.

"Arnold?"

Not expecting to hear his name, Arnold's eyes opened to the person who stood in front of him, looking at him with wide eyes. If she was a freshman, she didn't look like it. She held a few books in her right hand, pressing them against her hip as the girls in his high school often did. A blue lanyard hung from her neck, her ID card reflecting in the sunlight, leaving her name hidden.

Strands of her blonde hair flew loosely in the wind as she waited for his response. He only continued to look at her in confusion, wondering how she knew his name. Her blue eyes eyed him with full recognition, and caution. They were familiar, as thought he'd seen them before.

Then, it clicked.

"Helga?"

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_**Once again, good? Bad?**_

_**Let me know!**_

_**I appreciate it!**_


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